This is a flashback to the Green Giant story I filed on this site last week. The Independent last week carried a story on the death of Len Dresslar, the voice of the Jolly Green Giant. Len was the man behind a lot of voices in television commercials. When the first Green Giant commercials were created for TV, the Ho-Ho-Ho wasn't there; it came about as an afterthought. Bob Noel, a creative director at Leo Burnett Company, conceived the concept of the Valley of the Jolly Green Giant. Those of us who saw the campaign unfold had seen many early versions--none with a Ho-Ho-Ho. Right before the first commercials were scheduled to appear, we were at a meeting in Chicago, and Noel told us, "I want you to hear the sound track on the final version. I made just one slight change." He wouldn't tell us what, so we were listening closely when he ran the tape. When Len Dresslar's booming Ho-Ho-Ho came out it broke up the meeting. Some ideas sneak up on you; some hit you right between the eyes. You just knew from the get-go it was the right touch. Later, we ran some print ads in New Yorker Magazine over whether Santa Claus or the Green Giant claimed rightful ownership to the Ho-Ho-Ho. It should be noted that Ho-Ho-Ho are the ONLY words the Green Giant has ever spoken on televsion. Dresslar didn't have a lot to say but he said it well.
